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Drilling company says spill minimal, did not harm creek

RIFLE — A malfunction in an EnCana Oil & Gas (USA) water line Tuesday morning released an undetermined amount of produced water into Mamm Creek.

EnCana spokesman Doug Hock said the water traveled about a half-mile before entering the creek, about five miles south of the Colorado River near Garfield County Road 336, the Jenkins Cutoff Road.

EnCana did sampling in the creek all the way to the river and found no evidence of elevated pollutants, Hock said. He said probably was a result of dilution and the fact the water had undergone some treatment for removal of hydrocarbons so it could be recycled by being piped for use in well fracturing.

He said EnCana has contacted downstream municipalities, the county, the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission and the state Department of Public Health and Environment.

He said the company was trying to determine the cause of the spill and the volume released. The flow was stopped “fairly quickly” and appears to have been minimal, he said.

“We take incidents such as this one very seriously, and it’s important that measures are taken to ensure the problem is remedied,” he said.